The present invention relates to a closure for containers, such as, for example, pharmaceutical vials, and more particularly to a closure for containers that indicates whether the closure has been tampered with or previously opened or accessed.
Containers, such as, for example, pharmaceutical vials, often contain contents that may be compromised once exposed to the environment, or even if merely unsealed. Such contents, for example, may be intended for single use consumption only. In such applications, it is important for a user, such as, for example, a health care worker, to be able to determine whether the contents within a container have been previously exposed and are therefore no longer suitable for use, or dispensing, or whether the contents have not been previously accessed or exposed and are suitable for use.
Alternatively, in many applications, whether medical or non-medical a manufacturer may wish to instruct consumer and/or end users to not purchase or use product within a container that has been tampered with or opened prior to purchase. Similarly, it is often preferred by an end-user and/or consumer to be able to determine whether a particular container of product to be purchased has been previously opened or tampered with. Likewise, it is often equally important for a place of business to be able to determine whether a container of product has been opened or tampered within, such as, for example, after purchase because certain products sold in containers are no longer returnable once opened.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a closure for containers that can indicate whether or not the closure has been opened or accessed. Such a closure, usable with different existing container designs in the market, would minimize the costs associated with designing and manufacturing new containers that indicate whether or not the container has been previously opened, accessed or tampered with.
The invention provides tamper evident closures for containers, particularly, tamper evident closures for containers having an open end for assembling with a closure.